Page 84 of Wild Pitch
I lean my back against the door. Boy am I glad he’s not the only one who’s sick, otherwise explaining this to my boss would be a lot more complicated. I take my phone from the pocket of my joggers and dial Steve.
“Good morning.” As I say this, I sniffle naturally because that’s what you do when you get a sudden tickle inside your nose.
“Oof, let me guess. You caught the bug too.”
“I think so.”
He sighs. “Well, get some rest and come back if you feel better in a couple of days.”
“Thanks and sorry.” We know the drill, the players’s safety is our top priority and any time anyone gets anything remotely contagious, we have to use our paid time off to stay home and protect them. It’s part of what makes my job completely unpredictable, aside from all the travel I have to do with the team.
We end the call and I change gears. I dump my duffel bag containing all the clothes, toiletries, equipment, and snacks I usually cart back and forth to work every day in a corner of my room. Turns out I won’t need it for a few days. Instead, I march to my closet to take out a different bag and dump some comfier clothes and a couple of books about kinesthesia that I’ll finally have the time to read.
In the kitchen, I leave a message on the magnetic whiteboard tacked on the fridge to let the girlies know what’s what, then I send a text to my dad.
Me
Heads up, I got sick and am OMW to spend it with you
Mi Papá
What kind of sick?
Me
The kind that can’t be propagated to players any further
Mi Papá
But it’s okay if I get it??
Me
Yes, sorry
Mi Papá
Está bien, quedará en tu conciencia
I roll my eyes at his dramatics. If Eduardo and I didn’t kill him when we were kids coming from school with anything between chickenpox and stomach bugs, a little common cold won’t defeat him either.
But then his three dots appear again right before a new text.
Mi Papá
BTW I’m out with my pickleball friends
I’ll bring you something greasy
Snorting, I shake my head. He’s the one I get my early bird ways from, but even I admit that if the day comes that I can retire like him, I don’t plan on waking up any time before seven in the morning. One extra hour of sleep is the least I’d deserve after a lifetime of working for someone else.
Me
Make it extremely cheesy xfa
He sends me a thumbs up emoji and we have a deal.
The drive to my childhood home goes by quickly because traffic isn’t brutal yet. His car is gone already, but I still park by the curb so he has the easier access to the front door. This one isn’t some fancy model like the ones at a certain pitcher’s house, and I unlock it with an old school key.
